JOE-KYARI GADZAMA, OFR, MFR, SAN

FNIALS, FICMC, DipICArb, FNICArb, FCIArb, C.Arb.

Introduction

I obtained my LLB Degree from the University of Maiduguri in 1985 and was called to th the Nigerian Bar on the 16 of October, 1986. I was appointed a Notary Public in 1996 and elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1998, at about 12 (twelve) years at the bar. I was the first member of the Nigerian Law School set of 1986 and the first practitioner from the entire North-Eastern region of the Country to be elevated to the rank. I am currently the Founding Principal Partner of J-K Gadzama LLP.

Subsequently, I obtained a Diploma in International Arbitration from Keble College, Oxford University in 2006. I attended the Institute for Public-Private Partnerships (Ip3), Arlington, the USA in 2009 and I further underwent a short course on regulation at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2010.

Having vast experience in litigation and commercial law, I have spearheaded some of the biggest transactions in the Country and have been involved in litigations that have opened new frontiers in our legal system. I have been, for over three decades, an external solicitor to several merchant, commercial, development and industrial banks. I have been retained as an adviser to major multinational corporations, indigenous companies, organizations and a network of high net-worth individuals in Nigeria. In terms of litigation, I was in the past, the lead Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and major political parties in the Country.
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Due to my strong anti-corruption record, I was appointed Chairman, Legal Team of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Chairman, National Working Group on the Rome Statute constituted by the office of the Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation.

Until recently, I was a Federal Commissioner/Board Member of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission of Nigeria (ICRC); Board Member, Diamond Pension Fund Custodian Ltd, and Board Member, University of Benin Governing Council.

I am a Chartered Arbitrator (C.Arb.), and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators. I have been featured on “Who's Who Legal” as an Arbitration Expert and I am the current Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Janada International Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (JICAM) and a former Chair of the Abuja Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria.
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J-K the Man

The foundation of my manifesto is continuity and innovation. I firmly believe that the current administration ably led by my brother, Mr. Olumide Akpata, Esq. has done fantastically well in many aspects ranging from enhancing the welfare of lawyers,
upholding the rule of law and making administrative processes in the secretariat faster.

I have been consistently and ceaselessly involved in the activities of the NBA since 1998 and I am not a new face to the Bar. I previously served the Bar as the Chairman of the NBA-Abuja branch. I have also been a member of the National Executive Council of the NBA for the past few decades. I am a Life Bencher of the Body of Benchers and as a result of my penchant for mentoring young lawyers, I was appointed by His Lordship, Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chairman of the Mentoring Committee for Young Lawyers of the Body of Benchers. I have played an active role in all three sections of the NBA (SBL, SPIDEL and SLP). I was appointed as the Pioneer Chairman of the NBA-Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), I was the pioneer Vice-Chairman of the NBA-Section on Legal Practice and a pioneer Council Member of the NBA Section on Business Law. At the moment, I am the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association - Security Agencies Relations Committee.

Mission Statement

J-K Gadzama SAN's Mission Statement for President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)

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An All-Inclusive Bar

Address

Plot 1805, Damaturu Crescent, by Kabo Way, Off Ahmadu Bello Way, Garki 2. P.O. Box 20304, Abuja FCT, Nigeria

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